Montana is one of several states where Republican lawmakers have sought this year to prohibit hormone treatments and surgical care for transgender minors. About 1.3 million U.S. adults and 300,000 children identify as transgender, and efforts to restrict what is known as gender-affirming care have thrust them into one of the nation’s most pitched political battles.
Republican legislators have characterized transition care as harmful and experimental, saying that children and teenagers are not mature enough to make permanent decisions. But major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, support this care, and say that bans pose serious mental health risks to young people, infringing not only on their rights but also on the rights of doctors and parents.
This year, 11 states have passed laws prohibiting such care for young people. Previously, just three state legislatures had enacted full or partial bans. The barrage of state legislation is part of a long-term campaign by national conservative organizations that see transgender rights as an issue around which they can harness some voters’ anger, and raise money.
Few of those legislatures have had to debate those laws with a transgender lawmaker as a member. That may change, if slowly: Over the last few years, a growing number of L.G.B.T.Q. people have been running for office and winning elections. The number of openly transgender and nonbinary people elected to public office increased to at least 70 this year, from 25 in 2019, according to the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, which supports those candidates.
Danica Roem, a Virginia lawmaker who in 2018 became the first openly transgender state legislator in the country, said that the number of bills on transgender issues introduced in her state this year was unmatched by anything she had seen during her time in office. But she added that she is now serving her third term — and watching transgender candidates in other states win elections, too.
Ms. Zephyr, 34, said she ran for office on a campaign platform of affordable housing, health care, human rights and climate justice. But it is her clash with Republican lawmakers over transgender issues that has rapidly raised her profile.
